Recommendations on breast abnormalities ‘may need to be revised’

A new study, published in the American Association for Cancer Research's journal Cancer Prevention Research, challenges the current recommendations for management of a type of breast tissue abnormality.

New classification system for breast cancers

Breast cancer tumors have long been classified according to their expression of three surface proteins: estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2).These classifications are used to determine best treatments and prognoses, but are not adequate to describe tumor characteristics or compare them to normal breast tissue.

Second breast cancers may be prevented by moderate doses of radiation therapy to unaffected breast

Survivors of breast cancer have a one in six chance of developing breast cancer in the other breast. But a study conducted in mice suggests that survivors can dramatically reduce that risk through treatment with moderate doses of radiation to the unaffected breast at the same time that they receive radiation therapy to their affected breast.

Researchers discover new hormone receptors to target when treating breast cancer

About three-quarters of breast cancers, the most common cancer in women in the U.S., are estrogen hormone dependent. Patients with this type of breast cancer are initially treated with drugs that block estrogen, such as Tamoxifen. However, one-third to half of these patients eventually become resistant to this treatment.

Compound trialed on mice showed a complete halt in spread of metastatic breast tumors

Researchers at Cardiff University are developing a novel compound known to reverse the spread of malignant breast cancer cells.The vast majority of deaths from cancer result from its progressive spread to vital organs, known as metastasis. In breast cancer up to 12,000 patients a year develop this form of the disease, often several years after initial diagnosis of a breast lump.

Scientists aiming to prevent tumor spread

A team of scientists, led by principal investigator David D. Schlaepfer, PhD, a professor in the Department of Reproductive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has found that a protein involved in promoting tumor growth and survival is also activated in surrounding blood vessels, enabling cancer cells to spread into the bloodstream.